An Australian court has ruled that a notorious euthanasia campaigner should have his medical practice licence reinstated, despite his failure to discourage a depressed man from committing suicide.
At an emergency meeting last July, the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) suspended Dr Philip Nitschke’s licence, citing his tacit approval of 45-year-old Nigel Brayley’s decision to kill himself.
The Board argued that Dr Nitschke had violated the doctors’ code, which states that “doctors have a responsibility to protect and promote the health of individuals and the community”.
Dr Nitschke, nicknamed Dr Death on account of his relentless advocacy of euthanasia and ‘rational’ suicide, lodged an appeal against the suspension, but the Northern Territory Health Professional Review Tribunal upheld the MBA’s decision.
On Monday (6 July 2015), however, the Northern Territory Supreme Court overturned the tribunal’s ruling.
Supreme Court Justice Graham Hiley suggested that a doctor’s obligation to “protect and promote the health of individuals” was not applicable under the circumstances, since Dr Nitschke and Mr Brayley were not engaged in a professional doctor-patient relationship.
He said that were the obligation to be understood to apply outside of a doctor-patient relationship, then a doctor “would constantly need to fear that any interaction with any other individual or community, including an individual who is not and never has been his or her patient, may be in breach of the [code].”
Justice Hiley’s comments in the case will be of particular interest to those in the UK who are challenging the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision to amend the prosecution policy for doctors who assist others to kill themselves.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, disability rights campaigner Nikki Kenward was granted permission for a judicial review of the DPP’s action.
‘Never challenged suicide intention’
Mr Brayley, who was depressed but otherwise healthy, approached Dr Nitschke at a workshop organised by Exit International, a group which campaigns for the legalisation of euthanasia.
After the event, Mr Brayley corresponded with Dr Nitschke, expressing his desire to kill himself. The email chain shows that Dr Nitschke never challenged Mr Brayley’s stated intention.
Mr Brayley committed suicide in May 2014 using the euthanasia drug Nembutal.
Dr Nitschke is due to face further complaints against him at a hearing in November and could yet lose his licence.
‘Relentless campaigning’
In his campaign for ‘voluntary euthanasia’, Dr Nitschke has advocated various methods of killing, including the ‘CoGen’ machine (a mask through which users inhale pure carbon monoxide), the ‘exit bag’ (a large plastic bag to place over the head, with a drawstring to secure it around the neck) and the use of The Peaceful Pill Handbook, which is prohibited by both the Australian and New Zealand Offices for Film and Literature Classification because it instructs on drug manufacture and other crimes.
‘Prevent from entering the UK’
In 2010, the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) sought to stop Dr Nitschke speaking at a “suicide” workshop in the UK.
CLC wrote to the then Home Secretary Alan Johnson citing the 1961 Suicide Act, which prohibits encouraging or assisting suicide, asking him to use his power to bar Dr Nitschke from entering the UK.
Mr Johnson, however, refused to do so. Dr Nitschke was allowed to enter, and he has since revisited the UK, most recently in April of this year.
Related News:
Dr Death allowed into UK despite serious opposition
Related Coverage:
Philip Nitschke wins appeal over medical licence suspension (Guardian)